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- Student Awards
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Kindergarten Enrolments 2023
It is very important for our current families with children of school age for Kindergarten 2023, to apply as soon as possible by filling out the enrolment form on St Agnes Parish website. With interviews beginning next week, places are in high demand and we need to know which families are seeking a place prior to offers going out later in June. Don’t miss out!
Sharing our success
It was a great privilege this week to host Principals and CSO staff at St Joseph’s for a morning. Our group of visitors spoke with us about what we are doing in our school to deepen the learning experiences of our students and make their learning more visible through the work we have engaged in for the past two years with Lyn Sharratt, an exemplary leader and educator in Canada. Our teachers have been on a learning journey that is continuing as an ongoing cycle of improvement, where they highlight clearly to students what they are learning about, challenge and support students to take on responsibility for their learning in an age appropriate way, and have high expectations with support for reaching their learning goals. Our visitors walked through each learning space and engaged with our students to find out what they really know and can do. This particular visit was to assist Principals in learning from each other as not administrators in an office, but as lead learners in our classrooms. There were some wonderful moments for the group to see learning in action and to share their own experiences. We were proud of how easily our staff and students can continue with their work while visitors observe and discuss what they can see and hear.
National Reconciliation Week
National Reconciliation Week is 27th May to 3rd June and is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2022, “Be Brave. Make Change” is a challenge to all Australians - individuals, families, communities, organisations and government - to Be Brave and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation so we can Make Change for the benefit of all Australians.
Last year Reconciliation Australia encouraged all Australians to take action; not just in National Reconciliation Week but every week of the year. This year we are being asked to make change beginning with brave actions in our daily lives - where we live, work, play and socialise. Something to note, is that this is not just something specific to supporting Indigenous Australians, but is the way of life that we should be leading for all Australians, no matter where they have originated from.
Click here to find out more about National Reconciliation Week
#NRW2022 #BeBraveMakeChange
Indigenous Afternoon Tea
In the spirit of Reconciliation Week, our Indigenous families, carers and students, are invited to attend afternoon tea at the school MPA on Friday 3rd June, from 4:00pm until 5:30pm. Please see the note sent out this week for details of how this gathering can enhance our connections to each other, support our students in their learning and provide opportunities for a wealth of experience and ideas to form our forward planning.
Canteen Week - Thank you Kim!
This week we were pleased to be able to recognise Canteen Week to thank our hard working and committed Canteen Manager, Kim Goldie. The children know her as Kim or Mrs Goldie, and I can guarantee she knows most if not all children by name (and often what they like to buy!). Not only does Kim come every day to prepare and serve food, snacks and drinks to our hungry students and teachers, but she goes above and beyond the time and effort to continue to the life of the school and students. We also recognise those who help Kim, particularly as the middle to end of the week is a flurry of activity which she cannot do alone, although she certainly tries so as not to let anyone down. Thanks to parents, carers and our school staff who also come and help. Of course, we are always looking for more people to assist, so here is an opportunity for me to plug the volunteer notice as well.
Celebrating Our Faith
Narrated Masses
Our First Holy Communion Candidates, along with their families have enjoyed our Narrated Masses this week, in preparation for making the Sacrament of First Holy Communion. Narrated Masses are an important way for children (and their families) to gain a deeper understanding of the Mass and how its four parts connect to make the whole. On Sunday night, lucky children were able to get a ‘closer look’ at the altar during our Mass by sitting side by side with Fr Paul to support meaning and deepen their faith. A second group of families attended on Thursday night with Fr Roland explaining how the Mass is structured.
Please join us on Saturday 28th May at 3:00pm and Tuesday 31st May at 5:30pm as we continue our Narrated Masses. ALL ARE WELCOME.
Learning Together
The Importance of Eating Healthy
Research has shown that students are able to learn better when they are well nourished. Eating healthy meals has been linked to better academic performance, better memory, alertness and faster information processing. It also helps to regulate their emotions and overall well being. One reason for this is that foods that are rich in fibre, protein, and healthy fats such as eggs, yoghurt, apples and oatmeal keep the body feeling full longer, providing enough energy to focus and stay alert throughout the entire day. As a parent, how do you find time to pack lunches that are healthy, tasty, and don’t take hours to prepare? One simple way that you can ensure your child is getting enough of the nutritional foods they need is to pack food from every colour of the rainbow.
RED Foods
Sliced strawberries, cherries, apple slices, raspberries, watermelon slices, cooked sweet potato slices with cinnamon, cranberry juice, tomato slices with salt and pepper, bell peppers slices.
ORANGE & YELLOW Foods
Pineapple slices, rockmelon balls, baby carrots with dip, peaches, dried mango slices, oranges, yellow peppers, lightly salted pumpkin seeds, roasted squash, fresh papaya.
GREEN Foods
Snow peas, kiwi, celery sticks, honeydew slices, avocado slices, green grapes, cucumber salad with tomatoes, peas, zucchini slices, broccoli, kale or spinach salads, stir fried bok choy.
BLUE & PURPLE Foods
Blueberries, blackberries with low-fat yoghurts, dried plums, grapes, eggplant parmesan, raisins, pomegranate juice, roasted beetroot.
WHITE Foods
Banana slices, roasted cauliflower, pear slices, white peaches, hummus dip, sautéed mushrooms, white bean dip with crackers, hard boiled egg.
See the list below for foods and snack ideas from each colour of the rainbow that will satisfy even picky eaters, and provide the nutritional value needed. In most cases, raw versions of fruits and vegetables contain maximum vitamins and minerals.
REACHING YOUR WRITING GOALS
We all know how important it is to set goals and always aim to improve. Blake Herbert in Year 5 reflected on his writing in the most personal way and would like to share it with you.
Join us at the St Agnes’ Parish Careers Expo
Learn more about job opportunities with one of the largest employers in Port Macquarie. Opportunities range across aged care, disability and therapy services, education and training, business and administration.
John Henry Institute, the registered training provider of the Parish, will also be present to show you how they can help you train for a new role or get a work placement.
Date: Wednesday 15th June 2022
Time: 3:00pm-6:00pm
Venue: Glasshouse, Hay Street, Port Macquarie
Registration: www.stagnesparish.org.au/careers/ or call the Parish Administration Centre on (02) 6588 7444
Hastings Education Fund (HEF) Charity Golf Day and Annual Raffle Draw
The HEF provides financial assistance and mentoring to support local students moving into further education. Typically it assists around 35 students a year with grants of up to $3000 each. The major fundraiser for HEF is the raffle (see prizes) which is drawn at the Charity Golf Day on Sunday 29th May. For tickets please contact Parish Administration Reception or hastingseducationfund@gmail.com.
School Bus Changes - Effective Monday 23rd May 2022
New Bus Timetables and Additional Service (Bus S652)
If you require this new bus service, please advise your child of the new number. You might also like to send a note in with your child or phone the school office so that your teacher is aware of the change for your child. Teachers who are on bus duty will assist students in becoming accustomed to the new routine.
Please see the below letter for the new bus timetable or visit their website - https://www.busways.
NERAM ART PRIZE - LET'S HANG IT
Congratulations to the following Year 6 students who have submitted entries into the New England Art Museum (NERAM) “Let’s Hang It” Art Prize.
Well done Justin Dennison, Matilda Coleman, Willa Corless-Brown, Abbey Delforce, Mia Howell, Amelia Thompson, Ruby Cramp and Asia Steinhour.
We look forward to hearing of your success.
Athletics Carnival
Our whole school Athletics Carnival will now be held on the new date of Wednesday 8th June (Week 7, Term 2) at St Joseph’s Regional College, College Drive Port Macquarie. Students will travel by bus to and from Regional College. There is no cost to you for this. Kinder and Year 1 will run 100m races and enjoy Novelty games during the morning, while Years 2 to 6 will compete in Athletic activities for the day. House points are awarded for each event.
As the carnival is offsite we require your permission for your child to be able to attend. If you haven’t already completed the online permission and nomination form from the original note please do so now via the link below by Friday 3rd June. Please note that if we do not receive your permission by the nominated date your child will be unable to attend the carnival and will stay at school with a supervising staff member.
If you previously let us know that your child would not be able to attend on the original date but with the change of date they now can please complete the online form. If your child is unable to attend on Wednesday 8th June please let us know by completing the online form below.
Term 2 Sport - Basketball Coaching Sessions
We are excited to welcome Robert Linton and his team from the Port Macquarie Basketball Association back to our school in Term 2. Robert is excited to bring his expertise in basketball to our students for sport.
Diocesan Cross Country
Congratulations to our amazing athletes who attended Diocesan Cross Country this week in Grafton. We congratulate Bronte Sprague for coming 5th in the Girls 10's! Bronte will have the opportunity to represent Lismore Diocese at Eastern Creek in Sydney on Tuesday 7th June at Polding trials.
David Lynch
Sports Coordinator
School photo order envelopes have been sent home with the students. We also have Sibling order envelopes (for brothers and sisters here at St Joseph’s) available in the office if you would like one. Payment can be made online, with cash, credit card or cheques following the instructions on the envelopes. Please return your completed order envelope to the school office prior to or on School photo day.
We ask all students to wear their full school uniform and to ensure that items such as socks, black (no other colours) polishable shoes, hair ties and jewellery are as per our uniform list. If you are unsure, please check the Parent Handbook on our website via the link below.
For the smooth running of the process and so that your child does not miss out on their class group photo we ask that you endeavour to have your child at school on time dressed in their full uniform with their beautiful camera ready smiles.
KBB | Shiloh Bridger | Lucas Clarke | Jacob Van den Boom |
1CS | Scarlett Hamilton | Ashton Giurissevich | Levi Widdison |
1PS | Jacob Ainsworth | Remy Collier | Sequoia McCarthy |
2BT | Cleo Gawith | Nyah Watson | Blake Yewdall |
2DT | Matihias Bridger | Sarah Koning | Aibel Shoby Alias |
3B | Kyelle Webber | Diane-Grace King | Emelia Stoner |
3MH | Tyler Mat | Georgia Bell | Elsie Steadman |
4R | Savannah Loosemore | Taz Gawith | Lenny Dixon |
5BH | Sophie Lawrence | Harry Hoade | Misty-Lee Bennett |
5T | Cooper Bell | Marlee Hearne | Lailah Watson |
Supply issues and item availability
There are some ongoing issues with supplies and unfortunately this means some items will not always be available. I am updating Flexischools daily so you can see what is available when you go to place an order, however sometimes I don’t know that something isn’t available until I receive my delivery. In this case, I will offer an alternative item which is as close as possible to the item that has been ordered.
There are other items that I have had to remove from the menu for now as there is not enough time to make or prepare them when I am working by myself. Now that I can have volunteers back to help in the Canteen, hopefully I can reintroduce these items again. Please see the section below for information on how you can help in the Canteen if you have one free morning per month.
Fruit for Crunch’n’Sip
Fruit can be ordered in a lunch order for Fruit Break (Crunch’n’Sip) but please remember to let your child know that it is part of their lunch order and that they will need to collect it from the Canteen. Fruit can be ordered with over the counter lunch orders or Flexischool online orders (preferred method).
Lunch Orders and Flexischools Cutoff Time
A friendly reminder that Flexischools cutoff for canteen lunch orders is 8.30am each day.
Orders can be placed via Flexischools or by dropping them in the basket on the counter each morning.
Flexischools is our preferred method for submitting lunch orders.
- Download the Flexischools app from the App Storeor from Google Play.
Note: for iPhone and iPad please select ‘Allow’ notification - Click “Register Now” to create account
- Top-up your balance
- Start ordering immediately
- Alternatively Go to www.flexischools.com.au or you can find the link on the school website.
Don’t forget you can place your online orders days or even weeks in advance, making the morning rush even easier!
Volunteers
Our new COVID guidelines now allow volunteers into the school. You can register to volunteer via this link - Click here for Volunteers Form. You will also need to email or drop in a copy of your Volunteer Working With Children Check and a proof of double vaccination to sjpport@lism.catholic.edu.au. After registering your availability in the above online form and sending in your supporting documents Kim, our Canteen Co-ordinator will be in contact with you to arrange your first day.
Kim Goldie
Canteen Coodinator
Week 6 - Term 2 2022
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Please note these dates can change from time to time due to unforeseen circumstances and we will endeavour to advise you of any changes at the earliest possible opportunity. Our school Google calendar can be accessed via this link for additional advanced dates -
For your convenience 2022 school term dates are listed below. They are also located on our website. Click on the words “TERM DATES” on the home page.
TERM 2
Kindergarten to Year 6 commence classes for Term 2 - Tuesday
26th April 2022
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Friday 24th June 2022
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes Term 2 – Friday
1st July 2022
TERM 3
Kindergarten to Year 6 commence classes for Term 3 - Monday
18th July 2022
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes Term 3 – Thursday
22nd September 2022
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Friday 23rd September 2022
TERM 4
Kindergarten to Year 6 commence classes for Term 4 - Monday
10th October 2022
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes for Term 4 - Friday
16th December 2022
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Monday 19th December 2022
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Tuesday 20th December 2022
Other Holidays in 2022
Australia Day – 26th January (Public Holiday)
Good Friday – 15th April (Public Holiday)
Easter Monday – 18th April (Public Holiday)
ANZAC Day – 25th April (Public Holiday)
Queen’s Birthday – 13th June (Public Holiday)
Labour Day – 3rd October (Public Holiday)
Christmas Day - 25th December (Public Holiday)
Boxing Day - 26th December (Public Holiday)
STEM MAD 2022 - Successful nomination (selected students)
History and English Excursion - Year 3
Timbertown History Excursion 2022 - Year 2
Indigenous Afternoon Tea
Indigenous Gathering Invitation